Family Set New World Christmas Lights Record

An Australian family has put up more than half a million Christmas lights around their suburban home in Canberra, setting a new world record for Christmas lights.

World record

Guinness World of Records official Chris Sheedy confirmed that the Richards family set the record for Christmas lights on a residential property with 502,165 shining lights.

The family first entered the renowned record book in 2011, with 331, 038 multi-colored Christmas lights. They, however, were trumped in 2012 by a family in New York, who put up 346, 283 lights on their home.

Good deed

The father, David Richards, said he had started working on the Christmas lights in October.

“I have always loved Christmas,” the father said. “Having the Christmas lights with the community coming in and sharing it is a time when you get to know people you probably should know better.”

He didn’t indicate doing this again in the future, but he said he would need a generator to get any more electricity for his home.

The Richards home will be open to the public to raise money for a charity.